Background
In the wake of events happening around the globe and on our beloved land Ghana, certain facets of the human life has been brought to a standstill with authorities looking for appropriate, expedient and empathetic ways of resolving the issue at hand. The educational facet has also faced a major hit with students at home from the rudimentary level to tertiary . However, certain decisions being taken at the tertiary level by management of some of these tertiary institutions does not reflect an empathetic approach.
Situational analysis
The management of the University of Ghana in its quest to find an alternative remedy to the said malady of what the pandemic has caused in the educational system in these past days decided to bring on board an online programme to assist and continue the routine educational physical experience in an online mode with the provision of sim cards complimented with internet data. This initiative to some extent is commendable and is due the applauds received. There’s an obvious abnormally that needs a critical normalization or the need for the abrogation of the whole initiative. Thus, the initiative has a tendency to discriminate geographically and wouldn’t serve a common good to some under privileged students. Consequently, the natural abortion of the desired end by its means becomes inevitable.
Have management wondered the financial efforts of ghanaian parents to put their wards through school and asking them to have their ward defer because of their inability to afford certain privileges to facilitate an E-learning programme rolled out by the school without hearing them out first and taking a decision on your own as management? forgetting that the students are also stakeholders and giving the excuse that students were not on campus as that time due to the directive of the President to have all schools and educational institutions close down. Don’t we have the leadership of the student body; the SRC to be consulted to solicit for students view before rolling out this initiative?
Challenge
The quest of management to ensure that students continue to receive education should not be done to create educational inequity. The University’s fraternity of students is not made up of equally privileged students coming from the same background. There are students who are duly members of the University community who find themselves in deprived areas where network connectivity reception is a hurdle for the smooth facilitation of an online study and engagements of which is an impediment to their educational growth and attainment of their academic goals. Besides, the knowledge of telecommunication service providers not providing a uniform and stable network connectivity across the entire country is not a hidden knowledge.There are certain parts of the country that the said network service provider contracted by the school’s management does not cover and other network service providers do not also have a full coverage of.
Notwithstanding, management should also take into account that there are some communities or social enclaves in Ghana that still do not have access to electricity supply and therefore are not able to enjoy what others in privileged communities are enjoying. Management should bear in mind that there are students from the aforementioned category of who are legitimately students and members of the University community per the student – institution contract stipulated in the admission letter that places onus on the school to ensure that students receive what is due them in a considerable holistic beneficial way to every student. Praeter haec, I would like to ask management to empathetically ponder over those who do not have access to the technological device to be able to facilitate participation in the e-learning programme. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation ( UNESCO ) in a report on education across the world raises the issue of educational inequity emanating as a result of the disparity in access to technological devices by students thereby giving those from well to do backgrounds an advantage over their counterparts which does not help in reaching the United Nations policy on education becoming accessible to all.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Loooking at the current state of the nation, it is obvious that only time can tell when it will be safe to have students back in the lecture halls. Notwithstanding management must put measures in place to make available study materials such as slides and lecture videos on our various platforms through whatever medium a lecturer could get in touch with students so that we can read and study ahead as we wait upon the rightful time to get back to the lecture room for teaching and learning to continue for the remaining weeks in the semester. Also, involvement of all telecommunications is one that if considered will salvage the situation currently. The vodafone network isn’t accessible in all parts of the country and so the suitable network available for the student is what should be employed. I believe that by this idea, the fright of failure and the woes of students in this trying times Will be minimized.
Signed
Banning Baffour Clinton
0543023755
SRC Presidential Hopeful
University Of Ghana Accra City Campus
ISSUED BY: LEGON CNN
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LEGON CNN 